The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday successfully launched the PSLV-C56 carrying Singapore’s DS-SAR satellite and six other satellites.

The PSLV-C56 carrying the DS-SAR satellite along with six other satellites lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 6.31 a.m.

The PSLV-C56 carrying the DS-SAR satellite along with six other satellites lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The DS-SAR satellite is developed under a partnership between DSTA (representing the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering.

The other satellites on the missions are

VELOX-AM - a 23 kg technology demonstration microsatellite,

ARCADE - Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer (ARCADE) which is an experimental satellite,

SCOOB-II - A 3U nanosatellite flying a technology demonstrator payload,

NuLIoN - NuSpace, an advanced 3U nanosatellite enabling seamless IoT connectivity in both urban and remote locations,

Galassia-2 - A 3U nanosatellite that will be orbiting at low earth orbit and

PSLV stands for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It is an expendable launch vehicle developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The PSLV is primarily used to launch satellites into various orbits, including polar and geosynchronous transfer orbits, and it has been instrumental in India's space exploration and satellite deployment missions.

Stages: The PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle. It consists of four stages: the first stage is solid-fueled, the second stage is liquid-fueled, the third stage is also solid-fueled, and the fourth stage is a liquid-fueled stage with multiple restart capability.

Payload Capacity: The PSLV is capable of carrying payloads weighing up to approximately 1,750 kilograms to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and up to 3,800 kilograms to sun-synchronous polar orbits (SSO).

Launch Profile: The PSLV is known for its versatile and flexible launch profile, allowing it to launch multiple satellites in a single mission. It is often used for launching small and medium-sized satellites from different countries as part of commercial satellite launch services.

Reliability: The PSLV has gained a reputation for its reliability, with a successful track record of numerous launches since its first flight in 1993.

Variants: Over time, ISRO has developed different variants of the PSLV to cater to various mission requirements. Notable variants include the PSLV-G, PSLV-C, and PSLV-XL, among others.

The PSLV has played a crucial role in several milestone missions for India's space program, including the Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) missions. It has also been extensively used for deploying various Earth observation, communication, and navigation satellites, contributing to India's space technology advancements and international collaborations in space exploration.